When We Cease to Understand the World
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One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2021
Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schr?dinger--these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjam?n Labatut thrusts the reader, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear. At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail, Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible.
Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schr?dinger--these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjam?n Labatut thrusts the reader, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear. At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail, Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1681375664
ISBN13:9781681375663
Release Date:September 2021
Publisher:New York Review of Books
Length:192 Pages
Weight:0.63 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 5.7" x 8.4"
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When We Cease to Understand the World Mentions in Our Blog
The 100 Best Books of the Century?
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • July 28, 2024
A few weeks ago, The New York Times Book Review published a piece entitled The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century and it has garnered lots of attention. Here's a look at the list, along with highlights, a reading guide, and more.
The 2021 National Book Award Finalists
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • October 10, 2021
The 2021 National Book Award finalists were announced last week. This prestigious annual literary award includes five different categories—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature—with five finalists for each. Read on for the twenty-five books that made the cut.
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